Pinecrest residents call for traffic signal

Chris Kardish/Bluffton Today Cars stream by the intersection of Crossings/Masters Way and Bluffton Parkway. Residents of nearby Pinecrest have called for a traffic signal, arguing the median puts drivers at risk of collision when turning left.

Residents of the Pinecrest development say the Bluffton Parkway intersection they use to get in and out of their neighborhood leaves dangerously little separation from oncoming traffic.

The intersection where Crossings and Masters Way meets Bluffton Parkway near Buckwalter Parkway is a hazard to drivers using the median to turn, argues Phyllis Lambert, a resident who represented the neighborhood before the Beaufort County Council and Bluffton Town Council. Drivers making left turns from either side of the development are caught with minimal median space as cars whiz by too close for comfort, she said.

“There are a couple times a day when there isn’t a lot of traffic, maybe midday, but the rest of the day…it’s baby 278 out there,” she said.

Lambert and others gathered 153 signatures among the more than 500 homes in the development. The petition calls for a traffic signal to remedy what they consider a lack of median space that leaves drivers exiting the development vulnerable to cars passing on both sides.

“You essentially get yourself at the edge where you can see more, but as soon as you get out someone’s coming,” said Carole Croteau, a retired Pinecrest resident who supported the petition.

“I have no clue what the solution would be, but I’d like to think another street light would help. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”

Over the past three years, the Bluffton Township Fire District — which typically comes out for more serious incidents — responded to the intersection seven times. The Bluffton Police Department reported 15 collisions over the same period, while the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office logged two vehicle wrecks.

The county is responding with a study to check traffic volumes and determine whether a signal is warranted, said Colin Kinton, a traffic and transportation engineer. That could take two to three weeks, he added.

But Lambert said the danger goes beyond traffic counts and places school buses using the area as a stop at risk.

“You just can’t judge this intersection by counting cars or the distance to Buckwalter,” she said. “It is truly hazardous, and we really need your help.”